Yorkshire Housing joins group pushing for further Government support on energy bills

The scheme was devised to help households who do not have a direct relationship to an electricity supplier, such as those living in care homes or narrowboats. The group states that only 16 per cent of the 900,000 eligible households successfully applied for the scheme before the May deadline.

Nick Atkin, chief executive at Yorkshire Housing, said: “Nobody should have to choose between staying warm and putting food on the table. Yorkshire and the Humber has the second highest fuel poverty rate in the country, so it’s vital that we come together to provide more support so that people can stay safe and warm in their homes this winter”

The letter also calls for broader support to be given to those set to struggle due to rising energy bills.

The government recently closed its wider energy support scheme, which was available to all households, in favour of a set of targeted schemes. The new scheme includes a £900 payment for people on means-tested benefits.

Within the letter, however, the group points towards recent research conducted by The University of York for the Child Poverty Action Group, which found that an estimated 1.7 million households are living in fuel poverty and are expected to miss out on the available support due to not being registered for benefits.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "We spent billions to protect families when prices rose over winter, covering nearly half a typical household's energy bill – this includes more than £60 million supporting over 140,000 households without a domestic electricity supplier.

“As costs start to fall with the new price cap kicking in, the Energy Price Guarantee will remain in place as a safety net through to April 2024 - with additional help targeted at the most vulnerable.

“The government continues to monitor the situation and will keep options under review, including with respect to the most vulnerable households.”

The spokesperson added that energy prices had “significantly improved” since the Autumn Statement.

The letter also notes details from an independent survey issued by a leading housing association last summer, which found that when customers were asked how they would cope with rising energy costs, 37 per cent said they were not going to use their heating at all.

31 per cent said they were relying on Government support to cope with rising energy costs. 67 per cent also said they had struggled to pay their food bills.

The survey sampled over 3,000 social housing, retirement living and shared ownership customers across England.

The group of housing associations involved in sending the letter collectively home 1.5 million people.

The letter has been sent to Amanda Solloway MP, Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability and Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.